I will be posting my musing, insights and inspirations regarding Recovery for those that battle mental illness and addictive disorders. Each of us are on a journey and my hope is that this blog can serve to help to enlighten, encourage and motivate you along your way.

Though the road be long with pot hole and mountains to overcome, there is hope that you can be better and can be empowered to control your illness and no longer have to be controlled by it.

At it’s inception, Road to Recovery was simply a coping skills class offered with the Patient Education program of aBig SpringStateHospital. It utilizes an active, interactive model for sharing and communicating information. The idea initially was to use a holistic approach to addressing recovery in regards to mental illness and substance abuse.

In the process of interacting with those that attending the class, some seen of which would be discharged and re-admitted, I finally acknowledged something that we all know too well, “there are NOT enough resources available in most communities to adequately support those that are on this journey on a daily basis. That being said, in April of 2010 Road to Recovery took its first steps standing on its own feet with the launch of the Road to Recovery Blog. Not long after that Road to Recovery hit Facebook. Initially as a “Page”, which is actually still active, but then as a “Group”.

Also in this time of getting up and walking, Road to Recovery has also gone online with Twitter and Tumblr.

Just a few months ago, Road to Recovery, became its own “profile” on Facebook and within the last 3 weeks has added more than 150 friends, with more being added on a daily basis.

So what is R2R today?

Well, Road to Recovery continues to be the persona taken on by this writer with the hopes that through our interactions either personal, one on one, in the blog or other means of communication that you will experience on of the following as a result of that interaction:

Enlighten: To me, to enlighten is to share information with others so as to teach them something that they did not previously know, in order to allow them to improve the state of their lives.

Encourage: I recently described encouraging as offering a hand to another whom has slipped and fallen along their way and helping them to get back to their feet,

Inspire: Continuing from the previous thought, once the individual has gotten back on their feet; to inspire is to walk alongside and urge them on in their journey, rooting them on saying “you can do it”.

Instill Hope. To give, to share or impart hope. Hope is the belief that something good will happen and success is possible.

Empower: Finally, to empower is to have others come to the realization of the strength and courage that resides within, so as to believe in themselves and their potential for success.

To this day and as long as I am blessed to continue this journey, this will be me mission and my purpose whether it is in face to face interactions or by utilizing modern technology.

However, I have also learned a very valuable lesson through this process, I have come to realize that I am merely A voice. I am not THE Voice. That brings me to the second and probably the more important part of Road to Recovery today.

I see it as a caring community of travelers who are all on the same journey, striving to overcome our “issues” and be “better” than we were yesterday.

We come all parts of this great planet on which we occupy, with all different types of problems including but NOT limited to any of the following:

Mental Illness – Depression, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, etc

Substance Abuse/Dependence

Co-Occurring Disorders – Both of the above at the same time.

Eating Disorders

Personality Disorders – Borderline, Dependent, Histrionic

Trauma – Abuse, PTSD, etc.

We come together to share of struggles, our victories our joy and our tears. In sharing our experiences, we draw strength from one another, and individually and corporately we are one step further along in our journey. We acknowledge our similarities as well as our differences, respecting both. We will not always see eye to eye, bit we can always accept one another’s opinions and discuss issues and ideas without resorting to personal attacks.

Every physical road has curves, mountains valleys, pot holes, signs, etc. The same is true in regards to personal recovery process and our growth as a community.

What determines if we are successful in our recovery and maintain our personal and corporate well-being is how well we navigate these obstacles as we face them on our journey? Just as in driving, if we do not navigate these appropriately we will find ourselves in the bar ditch, or in recovery terms, relapse.

I hope and pray that as you travel day to day o in your journey of recovery, you will be enlightened, encouraged, inspired, instilled with hope and ultimately empowered to face every curve and obstacle on your ROAD TO RECOVERY.

Thank you so much for sharing. I really thought I was alone! I would like to say it’s comforting knowing that there are others out there experiencing the same things I am…but I would never even wish this on my worst enemy.

Hi Gary, thank you for your heart for others and yes it is a long hard road when you travel it alone, I have much concern or compassion for those who have suffer from eating disorders, I was Bulimic for 10 years and it was no picnic, but unlike those who have Anorexic no one knew, I just got lots of accolades about how good I looked, but I’m sure if they had seen my head in the toot and smelt the vomit, they wouldn’t have been as impressed.

The focus for a very long time has been what you look like on the outside instead of inner beauty or strength, we are very much influenced by the Media, Hollywood, Models, Beauty pageants, all have set unrealistic examples of what we should be seeking to achieve and how and now they are even presenting on open Media what is very dangerous and life threading as something we should applaud.

I no longer believe in wearing a mask to be accepted by everyone or seeking to conform to worldly acceptability, I found it got rather heavy after awhile, in fact bigger then I could handle and no diet would have made it lighter. ….Ever thought about the word diet …look at it again… DIE……ET, yes for many years I was in bondage, Die..ting is a mass money making Industry and many are it’s victims but the Lord delivered me and set me free.

Hi Gary. I can connect with many of your points. I have been on the road to recovery for quite some time, not always successfully but still trying. Thanks for sharing.
Mike Martin
Author of Change the Things You Can (Dealing with Difficult People)

That is the best blog for anyone who desires to seek out out about this topic. You realize so much its nearly arduous to argue with you (not that I really would need…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply nice!

I like the part where you say:
“We come together to share of struggles, our victories our joy and our tears. In sharing our experiences, we draw strength from one another, and individually and corporately we are one step further along in our journey. We acknowledge our similarities as well as our differences, respecting both. We will not always see eye to eye, bit we can always accept one another’s opinions and discuss issues and ideas without resorting to personal attacks.”
May we all abide by this and sometimes just have to “agree to disagree” about some things.
Thanks!
Blessings,
Jan

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I suffer with Bipolar and a Panic Disorder. I have been on and of meds since 2000. I am also a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. I struggle so much with this. I have called Crisis Lines and feel like all they want to do is put me in the hospital. It is so hard because when I am on the low side of the bipolar, I want hugs and to just stay in bed. The panic attacks get so bad that I end up agoraphobic. My church family doesn’t understand, my family doesn’t really understand. I am losing my Community Support Worker at CMHA. Where I live in Ontario, there is absolutely nothing for adults with Mental Illnesses. I have no more strength to advocate for myself. My church family doesn’t even want to know how they can help me.

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One of my all time special quotes seems really fitting here “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure.”–Jim Rohn

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WELCOME!

Musing, insights and inspirations regarding Recovery for those that battle mental illness and addictive disorders. Each of us are on a journey and my hope is that this blog can serve to help to enlighten, encourage and motivate you along your way.
Though the road be long with pot hole and mountains to overcome, there is hope that you can be better and can be empowered to control your illness and no longer have to be controlled by it.
Come join me on the Journey!!